The invention relates to a method for controlling an internal combustion engine, and in particular, to a method of controlling an internal combustion engine having multiple cylinders to which are assigned an inlet valve and an outlet valve.
Internal combustions are known with actuating drives which act on the charge cycle valves of the cylinders of the internal combustion engine. The actuating drives control the start of the stroke and/or the end of the stroke and/or the size of the stroke of the charge cycle valves and can change the start of the stroke and/or end of the stroke and/or the size of the stroke as a function of the load requirements. Such internal combustion engines accordingly have the charge cycle valves as actuator elements for setting the load instead of a throttle valve in conventional airflow rates controlled internal combustion engines. The quantity of airflow rate which is to be sucked in by the respective cylinder can be set virtually without loss.
An actuating drive (DE 195 26 683 A1) for charge cycle valves has two electromagnets between which an armature plate can be moved in each case counter to the force of the restoring means by shutting off the coil current at the holding electromagnet and switching on the coil current at the capturing electromagnet. The coil current for the respective capturing electromagnet is set to a predefined capturing value, specifically during a predefined time period which is dimensioned such that the armature plate impacts on a bearing face on the capturing electromagnet within the time period. The coil current of the capturing electromagnet is subsequently regulated to a holding value.
In one embodiment of the invention, there is a method for controlling an internal combustion engine having a plurality of cylinders, to which in each case at least one inlet valve and one outlet valve are assigned. The method includes, for example, controlling the at least one inlet valve and the at least one outlet valve using a first and second valve drive, respectively, wherein a first valve control time for the inlet valve of a cylinder is calculated at least one segment later than a second valve control time for the at least one outlet valve of the cylinder, a segment being determined by the phase angle between the upper dead centers of two pistons of cylinders which follow one another directly in the ignition sequence.
In one aspect of the method, the first and second valve control times and an actuating signal, dependent on the first and second value control times, respectively, for the first and second valve drives of the respective at least one inlet valve are determined in the same segment.
In another aspect of the invention, the first valve control time for the at least one inlet valve of the respective cylinder is calculated in the segment in which the lower dead center of the piston of the cylinder which follows the upper dead center when ignition occurs is located.
In still another aspect of the invention, the first and second valve control times for the at least one inlet valve and the at least one outlet valve of a cylinder are calculated in each case in the same segment if the rotational speed is higher than a predefined threshold value.
In another embodiment of the invention, there is a system for controlling an internal combustion engine having a plurality of cylinders, to which in each case at least one inlet valve and one outlet valve are assigned. The system includes, for example, a first valve drive controlling the at least one inlet valve and a second valve drive controlling the at least one outlet valve, wherein a first valve control time for the inlet valve of a cylinder is calculated at least one segment later than a second valve control time for the at least one outlet valve of the cylinder, a segment being determined by the phase angle between the upper dead centers of two pistons of cylinders which follow one another directly in the ignition sequence.